Archbishop Williams High football star commits to Penn

Archbishop Williams senior Kylan Philbert-Richardson, a two-time Patriot Ledger All-Scholastic as a running back, is headed to the Ivy League powerhouse as a safety.

Eric McHugh The Patriot Ledger

Getting a hand on Kylan Philbert-Richardson, never mind getting him to the ground, proved to be a big problem for high school defenders around here.

Soon the challenge for Ivy Leaguers will be avoiding him.

Philbert-Richardson made his mark at Archbishop Williams as a running back. A two-time Patriot Ledger All-Scholastic, he rushed for 1,746 yards and scored 17 touchdowns as a junior and cranked out 1,469 yards and 17 more scores as a senior.

He just committed to the University of Pennsylvania, where he’s projected to be – surprise! – a safety.

“I think my defensive skills are very good,” said the 6-foot Randolph resident, “but I can see why people see me more as a running back.”

Other suitors such as Harvard, Yale and Amherst eyed him as a runner, he said, but Penn’s coaches liked what they saw of him in minimal snaps at safety as a junior and senior.

Philbert-Richardson said that when he put together his highlight reel for colleges he made sure to include some defensive plays on which he “laid the lumber on kids.”

So he made an impression – in more ways than one.

“He’s a big, strong kid,” Williams coach Bill Kinsherf said of his star’s defensive prowess. “He runs well and he hits. He plays pretty aggressively.”

Philbert-Richardson was exclusively a corner in his Pop Warner days and played both ways, at corner and running back, as a freshman and sophomore. Eventually, Williams decided he was too valuable to risk on defense.

That’s not a concern for the Quakers, who could use some help on defense. In last year’s season-ending, four-game losing streak, Penn surrendered 27, 38, 38 and 42 points.

Philbert-Richardson said Penn envisions him filling “multiple roles,” which might be determined by “the work you put in during training camp and the offseason.”

“I don’t want to put words in (the coaches’) mouth,” he cautioned. “I’m just going to work my butt off when I get there, so if they need me (on offense) I can be the player they need me to be.”

And there’s always a chance to flash his moves on an interception return, right?

“Oh, yeah,” he said with a laugh. “I’m putting the shoulder down (and running people over). That’s in my brain.”

Philbert-Richardson said he’s relieved to have made his college choice, calling it “a huge weight off my shoulders.” And he said his decision was an easy one.

“I knew as soon as I got there on my official visit,” he said. “It’s an awesome place (with) great tradition. They know how to win.”

Penn coach Al Bagnoli has coached the Quakers for 22 seasons, winning nine outright Ivy League titles, the last one in 2012. Penn dipped to 4-6 last season, but Bagnoli entered that campaign with the highest career winning percentage (.728) of any active coach at the FCS level (formerly Div. 1-AA).

Bagnoli came up to see Philbert-Richardson at Archbishop Williams and had little trouble sealing the deal once Philbert-Richardson set foot on campus.

The coach came away with a dynamic athlete who, by the way, lists chatty Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman as his favorite NFL player.

“I really admire the things he does on defense,” Philbert-Richardson said. “I’m definitely more soft-spoken, though. I prefer to do my talking on the field.”